SAN FRANCISCO | 400 2nd St, 645 and 657 Harrison St (One Vassar) | 385 FT | 35 FLOORS

[Pedestrian]

Big Central SoMa Project Positioning to Break Ground Next Year
February 6, 2020

The proposed mass redevelopment of 12 contiguous Central SoMa parcels stretching from 400 Second Street to 665 Harrison, a.k.a. the One Vassar project, has just qualified for a streamlined environmental review and could break ground as early as next year if approved, with two towers rising up to 350 feet in height and a modern addition atop the historic building between.



As designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), the refined plans for the 400 Second Street tower would now yield 446,000 square feet of office space, with 5,100 square feet of ground floor retail space, a basement garage for 198 cars and 6,300 square feet of privately-owned public open space (POPOS) fronting Second Street, half of which would be enclosed.

On the other end of the site at 657 Harrison Street, a 35-story residential tower designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) would yield up to 489 apartments, with a 14,000-square-foot childcare facility, 1,700 square feet of ground floor retail space and a basement garage for 128 cars.

And atop the historic building at 645 Harrison Street, a modern 15-story addition designed by SOM would rise to a height of 200 feet and yield a new 468-room hotel.

. . . the first floor of the existing 4-story building at 645 Harrison Street would be converted into 24,000 square feet of new restaurant and retail space, configured as a “market hall,” with 65,000 square feet of office space, and 44,000 square feet of PDR, spread across the floors above and an adjacent 8,400-square-foot Hawthorne Street Plaza connecting Harrison and Perry.

. . . the project team is touting the potential for breaking ground for the two towers in mid-2021, with the redevelopment of 645 Harrison Street beginning in mid-2022 and the entire development completed by late 2024. But the project team will need to secure an increasingly scarce office allocation . . . .

https://socketsite.com/archives/2020...ed-review.html

[Pedestrian]

As a reminder, THIS was proposed across Harrison St. at 650 Harrison:


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ight=FRANCISCO

If everything gets built, it'll be quite a block.

[patriotizzy]

Gosh, while are these designs looking outdated already? There is nothing there to grab my attention. Come on, let's do better for THE landmark Californian city. Boring as fuck as it is now.

[Pedestrian]

^^I don't think the intention is to grab your attention so much as to house people at reasonable cost and enliven a dead neighborhood with human activity . . . again, at reasonable cost. These buildings don't look "outdated". They just don't look dramatic or controversial, but they can get the job done. Every city needs lots like them--the premier cities of the world are full of them. I'd rather see block after block like this than the old gas stations, underused light industry and parking lots we've got in this area.

[1977]

Approved by the planning commission.

One Vassar, a 1.5M SF mixed-use project at Second and Harrison streets, received unanimous approval from planning commissioners on Thursday, paving the way for a groundbreaking next year. The three-building development will include 489 residential units, about 493K SF of office, approximately 42K SF of production, distribution and repair use, 468 hotel rooms and about 37K SF of retail across three addresses.

Source


https://onevassar.com/

https://onevassar.com/

Any guesses on who will operate the hotel portion? I was thinking it might be a good location for The Standard since they pulled out of 950 Market:

New York-based Standard Hotels was prepared to make its Bay Area debut at Group I's condo and hotel project at 950 Market St., but the hotel operator says it has now decided to take its brand elsewhere.

The Standard is still chasing after the San Francisco market and is on the hunt for another site better suited to its brand. Details behind the termination of the deal were not immediately available. Group I did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranc...velopment.html

[colemonkee]

This is great, and these designs don't look outdated to me at all.

[timbad]

definitely looking forward to the activation of the block.

I would actually prefer they kept the easternmost existing building at least as a facade or podium; I think that one has character, and I personally like it more than the middle one. but, a smaller consideration than the overall positive this project is.

will also be curious to see if all this development (and presumably increased pedestrian volume) results in any kind of makeover for Harrison. I don't think it can be calmed to the degree of Folsom with all the freeway/bridge traffic here, but it would be nice for it to be tamed at least a little. (Bryant has similar challenges on the south side)

[highriseMD]

Any news of this project breaking ground?

[mrnyc]

its a functional people box that isnt an eyesore, so its good.

are the developers connected to vassar somehow?

[timbad]

^ I haven't heard anything about this project getting going. when I was looking around yesterday I did see that it got its Prop M office allocation, so at least that is not holding it up.

the Vassar name refers to an alley, Vassar Pl, located between the easternmost building and the middle one.

[timbad]

is it just me who is not excited at all that the middle building is being preserved? I just don't see anything remarkable about this:



this one on the eastern end at least has a historical, and noteworthy, architectural feature of what I assume was once a loading dock, perhaps for railcars:



if they were going to save one, I would have chosen the latter, easily.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by timbad

is it just me who is not excited at all that the middle building is being preserved? I just don't see anything remarkable about this:

Maybe it’s because it’s a typical ugly industrial building that could be in any industrial neighborhood in America (once housing a company sewing t-shirts using illegal migrant labor).

[homebucket]

Finally an update on this one. Mods, can we update the thread title to "SAN FRANCISCO | "One Vassar" (400 2nd St, 645 and 657 Harrison St) | 35 FL | 385 FT"?

The specs for 657 Harrison St:
- 35 floors, 385 ft
- 14,000 sq ft for childcare facility
- 1,040 sq ft for retail
- The site: https://maps.app.goo.gl/C6zk3ERocpz7McZC6

The specs for 645 Harrison St:
- 15 floors
- 468 room hotel
- Retail market hall
- The site: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QxM9j5LuhQQB3Jp69

The specs for 400 2nd St:
- 27 floors
- Office building
- The site: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pDxkw8uQWDm7CLey5

Demolition Permits Filed For 653-665 Harrison Street In SoMa, San Francisco



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JANUARY 12, 2024

Demolition permits have been filed for three two-story commercial office blocks at 653, 657, and 665 Harrison Street in SoMa, San Francisco. The activity comes alongside recently approved modifications to the 35-story residential component of One Vassar, a three-tower mixed-use masterplan. Cresleigh Management Inc., linked to Stanford Hotels Corporation, is listed as the property owner.

657 Harrison Street is the residential component in the three-tower master plan named One Vassar. Next to the apartments, 645 Harrison Street is expected to become a 15-story, 468-key hotel above a retail market hall constructed inside the historic podium structure. At the corner of Harrison and Second Street is where the developer proposed a 27-story office tower. SOM designed the office and hotel components.

...

Solomon Codwell Buenz is the project architect for 657 Harrison. Plans show the building wrapped with curtain-wall glass and stone veneer. Pronounced panels across the podium will establish a solid visual foundation for the skyscraper. SCB describes the tower design as using vertical spandrel glass and horizontal metal slabs to “break down overall proportions of [the] tower facade to a more residential scale.”

Plural is the landscape architect. The apartments will open for pedestrians with the Hawthorne Street Plaza enlargement, connecting Harrison Street to Perry Street for walkers and cyclists.

https://sfyimby.com/2024/01/demoliti...francisco.html

[homebucket]

And some additional renderings:













https://sfyimby.com/2024/01/demoliti...francisco.html

[homebucket]

I wonder when that parking lot at 404 2nd St will bite the dust.

[BobbyMucho]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I wonder when that parking lot at 404 2nd St will bite the dust.

I've been wondering the same for years! I was super hopeful when, a few years back, the city removed the slip lane that had been there forever. I assume it's owned by Caltrans, etc. Regardless, prime for some housing.

[CTJeff]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I wonder when that parking lot at 404 2nd St will bite the dust.

That corner will receive a "ventilation and emergency exit" structure as part of the downtown rail extension.

[dktshb]

The office tower proposal should become residential too.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by CTJeff

That corner will receive a "ventilation and emergency exit" structure as part of the downtown rail extension.

Ah ok thanks. Yeah, it does look like from this rendering that it will indeed be set aside for a vent structure.



https://sfyimby.com/2023/10/ceqa-app...extension.html

[CTJeff]

Originally Posted by dktshb

The office tower proposal should become residential too.

This project is in the "Central SoMa Special Use District." I presume the office/residential use mix has something to do with that district's requirement that "At least two-thirds of the Gross Floor Area of all building area below 160 feet in height shall be non-residential."

Hopefully, the current proposal to remove this requirement passes and helps this project to move forward: Ordinance 240787.

(Oh, maybe that doesn't apply here at 160 ft? So confusing. I have a hard time seeing how this project goes forward with that much office space. https://www.spur.org/news/2023-12-12...as-looong-road. While I think a hotel makes sense at this location, I'm not sure hotels make sense as a whole in SF right now, either. It's a great residential location.)